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Chip Wilson to step down as Lululemon chairman; new CEO named

Lululemon founder Chip Wilson appears in a YouTube apology to his employees. He announced late Monday that he is resigning as the company's chairman.

Photograph by: Screengrab
, YouTube

Chip Wilson has announced he will resign as the chairman of Lululemon’s board of directors after months of controversy over the quality of his company’s yoga pants and outrage over his comments about women’s bodies.

The Vancouver-based company announced the decision late Monday in a press release, which also named Laurent Potdevin as Lululemon’s new CEO. Potdevin most recently served as president of TOMS shoes and replaces Christine Day, who announced her intention to resign in June.

“As Laurent joins as CEO, I believe that now is the right time for me to begin to transition out of my role as Chairman of the Board,” Wilson said in the statement.

The Lululemon founder plans to step down before the company’s annual meeting in June 2014, and the board’s current lead director, Michael Casey, will take his place as chairman. Potdevin will take the helm at the beginning of the new year.

He later apologized to his employees after that comment angered some customers, posting a video on YouTube saying that he was “sad for the repercussions of my actions.” He did not address women who may have been offended by his words.

Thousands of people have since signed an online petition demanding a real apology from Wilson and calling on Lululemon to start making yoga clothes in larger sizes.

The company pulled many of its yoga pants from store shelves earlier this year after continuing complaints about sheerness and excessive pilling.

Colbert caught wind of the storm surrounding Lululemon last month, and devoted five minutes of his show to poking fun at Wilson’s botched apology as well as his history of making questionable statements about women.

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